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04.08.2009 18:40

FAQ - frequently asked questions

How long can I keep Trek'n Eat meals?

Trek’n Eat meals have a shelf life of two years. Oxygen is removed from Trek’n Eat foods and replaced by nitrogen (79% of the air we breathe is nitrogen). This produces a so-called inert atmosphere. The purpose of packaging foods in a nitrogen atmosphere is to prevent oxidation of some of the ingredients contained in the foods.

Beef Jerkys have a shelf life of 18 months.

What does „Freeze-dried“ mean?

Freeze-drying is a technical drying process which takes advantage of water‘s unique physical characteristics. In a vacuum chamber, frozen water transforms directly from a solid state into gas (Sublimitation). Freeze-dried meals are made by instantly freezing foods and then drying it in a vacuum chamber. In this manner, the water within the food does not melt; but is removed as steam. All that is required to restore the food is hot water. The light weight, simple preparation and fuel savings have caused mountain climbers, expeditions and trekkers to embrace freeze-dried foods-which are quickly becoming a part of all outdoor activities.

What separates Trekking-Mahlzeiten from conventional instant foods?

Meals from Trekking-Mahlzeiten are created with quality freeze-dried ingredients, and thus maintain most of the food‘s natural vitamins and minerals. Few flavour enhancers and flavourings are used in the creating Trekking-Mahlzeiten foods-this also makes the pot easier to clean. Trekking-Mahlzeiten foods have a higher calorie count and are packaged in waterproof, expedition-ready containers.

Where are Trekking-Mahlzeiten products used?

Freeze-dried foods are used around the world by expeditions, sailing voyages and outdoor activities. The most important advantages are:

Weight-savings

Simple preparation

Fuel-savings

Protective packaging

Long shelf-life

Great taste

Why do we round the corners of Trek’n Eat products?

Corners that are not rounded may be fairly sharp. This poses the danger of pouches puncturing each other. On expeditions and trekking tours, this will in the best case be unpleasant and in the worst life-threatening. Punctured pouches mean that the foods will leak out, the nitrogen atmosphere will escape, moisture will enter, and the food will be spoilt.

These have been found to be sufficient quantities for a single or double meal on many expeditions and trekking tours and are considered to be a standard. Compare this with a soup plate, which normally holds 250 g. But the crucial item is the cooking pot. A one-liter cooking pot will still hold 850 g if we assume that we add 600 to 650 ml of water to the Trek’n Eat meal. Anything more than that will ultimately turn out to be less, for the pot will be too small or flow over!

Is there any recyclable pouch?

Of course you find paper pouches that are fairly stable and can be recycled. But on expeditions and trekking tours, food package requirements are high or even extreme. The package must be gastight and airtight in order to protect the food by preventing the nitrogen atmosphere inside the pouch from being replaced by oxygen, moisture from entering, and the food from being exposed to sunlight. We are continuously searching for new materials that satisfy all these requirements.

Why are Trek’n Eat meals packed in a nitrogen atmosphere?

Moisture and oxygen will spoil foods and cause them to oxidize. Since the moisture content of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods is very low, the risk of spoilage by moisture is very low. But the oxygen in the pouch must be replaced. This is done by first evacuating the pouch and then filling it with pure nitrogen before it is sealed. Nitrogen accounts for about 79 % of the air we breathe and is entirely safe for foods.